Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-33250 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 46% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-33250 is a stack overflow vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation, CWE-121: Stack-based Buffer Overflow) affecting Freeciv21, a free open-source turn-based empire-building strategy game. Versions prior to 3.1.1 crash when receiving specially crafted packets, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H). The issue impacts both server and client components of the game.
A remote unauthenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability to crash any public Freeciv21 server by sending malicious packets. Similarly, a malicious server can crash the game on a connecting player's machine. No authentication is required, and default logging does not provide useful information for detecting or analyzing such attacks.
Advisories recommend upgrading all Freeciv21 installations to version 3.1.1, where the issue is fixed. For non-public servers, running behind a firewall provides mitigation. Local games are unaffected, as Freeciv21 restricts connections to the current user. Details are available in the GitHub security advisory (GHSA-f76g-6w3f-f6r3), release notes for v3.1.1, the fixing commit (ad8e18ca22595529599782b2984bf44df8d69ed6), and Redmine issue 1955.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-14642
Vulnerability Data
Freeciv21 is a free open source, turn-based, empire-building strategy game. Versions prior to 3.1.1 crash with a stack overflow when receiving specially-crafted packets. A remote attacker can use this to take down any public server. A malicious server can use…
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this to crash the game on the player's machine. Authentication is not needed and, by default, logs do not contain any useful information. All users should upgrade to Freeciv21 version 3.1.1. Running the server behind a firewall can help mitigate the issue for non-public servers. For local games, Freeciv21 restricts connections to the current user and is therefore not affected.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 8 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing input validation through analysis or test cases.
SI-10 directly requires validity checks on information inputs, structurally preventing improper or missing validation.
Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability to execute injected code after a stack overflow.
Requiring documented development standards and tools can embed input-validation practices into the engineering process.
Secure-engineering principles include bounds-checked coding and safe buffer handling that avoid introducing the flaw.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require and enforce input validation during development.
Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.
Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Testing against a defined set of requirements and using code review plus vulnerability scanning forces validation of inputs and handling of unanticipated conditions, reducing the chance that malformed data will be accepted.
Secure-coding guidelines and mandatory security testing (including code scans) compel developers to validate and sanitize inputs at design and implementation time, lowering the incidence of malformed or malicious data reaching downstream components.
Mandating input controls that include integrity checks and input validation ensures that untrusted data is examined before use, blocking the root cause of many injection and malformed-data weaknesses.
Security-by-design principles explicitly call for data validation and sanitization at every layer, reducing the chance that malformed or malicious input will be processed without scrutiny.
Requiring language-specific secure coding standards, peer review, SAST and documented mitigation of common programming errors forces validation of all inputs before they are trusted.
Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248594 OL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution. prevents CWE-121
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
- V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. prevents CWE-121
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230265 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-20